As some you may have seen, Duke has recently released their MBA essay topics for this year. There are several notable changes this time out, so without further ado, here are the instructions and questions (along with some analysis from the Clear Admit team):
Essays
You are required to compose three essays. The Admissions Committee considers your responses to the following questions important in the selection process. Please respond fully and concisely to each question. Candidates who applied to Fuqua between September 2004 and April 2005 are considered reapplicants. Reapplicants are asked to complete the three Reapplicant Essays in place of the Applicant Essays. All applicants have the opportunity to submit an optional fourth essay to explain any extenuating circumstances of which the admissions committee should be aware.
There is no restriction on the length of your response. Applicants typically use 1,000 words or less for essay number one and between 500 and 750 words for essays two and three.
1. Please discuss your career path, your short and long-term goals and the role the MBA will play in those plans. Why are you interested in The Duke MBA Program? If you are interested in the Health Sector Management concentration or a joint degree program, please address in this essay.
Last year, Duke actually had this essay broken into two shorter essays (one to cover a description of your career to date and the other to talk about future plans and the need for an MBA, etc). This year, they’ve merged the two essays and doubled the suggested word length (from 500 to 1,000 words).
In some respects, the key to this essay is to carefully follow the instructions and address each of the issues in turn. You might spend anywhere from 30-40% of the essay discussing your career to date and linking your various experiences together. Once this aspect of the question is addressed, a concise description of your short and long term goals will be vital. In particular it will be important to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have a logical plan post-MBA. How do your goals follow from your experiences to date?
The final section of this essay will explain to the reader why it is that you need a Duke/Fuqua MBA to reach your goals. There could be any number of reasons here, but most effective essays balance the discussion across academic needs, interaction with a talented student body/exposure to new ideas and cultures, extracurricular pursuits that appeal to the applicant and a general ‘fit’ with regards to the Fuqua community (this is why it’s ideal to visit the school). Most applicants fall short in this last section, so pay close attention to the ‘why Fuqua’ aspect.
2. How has your personal history and family background influenced your intellectual and personal development? What unique personal qualities or life experiences might distinguish you from other applicants? How will your background, values and non work-related activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add to the diverse culture we strive for at Fuqua? Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have accomplished.
This is a new question for this year, but it is related to last year’s essay #3 (an essay about ‘Team Fuqua”). The best part of this essay is that it should give the applicant a chance to share their unique personal background (something that can be harder to squeeze into a career goals essay). One approach here is to start by making a list of several personal milestones or experiences that have helped shape your personality and viewpoint. You can then select the most interesting items and share them in the essay. Of course the key here is to not only share the experiences that have made you unique – but to link them to contributions you will make as a Fuqua student. Think specifically about how you will spend your time on campus. What clubs, programs, courses or other activities will benefit from your experiences?
3. Please state your personal definition of leadership and provide the admissions committee with an example of this definition in action.
This question is also new for this year. Although it may appear intimidating, there are many ways to tackle it. One approach is to simply work backwards. Start by thinking about the leadership experiences you’ve had over the course of your life (either as a leader or as a team member). Select the most compelling example and share it with the committee, using the example to pinpoint your definition of leadership. In other words, rather than getting stuck on developing the ultimate definition of leadership (and then spending hours searching for the right example), focus more on a great example from your personal experience and let the example drive the definition you present.
Reapplicant Essays
There is no restriction on the length of your response. Reapplicants typically use between 500 and 750 words for each essay.
1. Write an essay describing how you are a stronger candidate for admission compared to the previous year’s application. Reapplicants should contact us to learn more about the best approach to this question.
2. and 3. (same questions as above)
Link to the essays and instructions on Duke’s site:
http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/admin/daymba/admissions/appdown.html#ess
